He was being captured!
Furiously, he thought of the attacks he had made in similar manner, in this same area. He still could remember the horrified expression on one shipowner's face just before his ship broke to bits under him.
They wouldn't get him, though.
They couldn't.
He would blast them out of his path. Just as he had blasted the presumptuous natives who opposed him.
Thumbing the hand weapon to full blast, he centered it on the faint shimmer ahead, and squeezed the trigger.
Let the meddlers look out for themselves.
Banasel winced a little as the fireball spread, then rose skyward, to form a large cloud.
"You could have relaxed," he protested. "The blast wouldn't have jolted our screen too much, and you could have gotten him again."